Individuals who are invited to bring in their professional standing and expertise into the work of the EKLIPSE mechanism, are required to fill in a declaration of conflict of interest.

As outlined in the EKLIPSE ethical infrastructure guidelines, their role demands a special attention to issues of conflict of interest (and bias) in order to respect and maintain the credibility and relevance of their working group and of EKLIPSE processes and their products. It is essential that the work carried out in EKLIPSE is not compromised by any conflict of interest of individuals involved. Thus, disclosure of certain matters is necessary to ensure that the work of EKLIPSE is not compromised. We rely on professionalism, common sense and honesty in filling out this form. We do not ask for comprehensive lists of activities under each heading in the declaration of conflict of interest. Experts should disclose interests that are relevant and relate or have the appearance of relating to their role in EKLIPSE work by:

Impairing their objectivity in carrying out their work

Creating an advantage for them,their family, close relatives, personal friends or organizationthey have been working for.

For the purposes of this policy, circumstances that could lead a reasonable person to question their objectivity, or whether an advantage has been created, constitute a potential conflict of interest and should be disclosed on this form. Disclosure of an interest on this form does not automatically mean that a conflict exists or that experts will be unable to perform their designated role in EKLIPSE.

[1]The form has been developed based on a review of existing documents with the same intention from other organisations. This includes the CoI policies of BiodivERsA /for evaluation of proposals), UNEP (a general CoI policy) and IPCC and IPBES (both for experts engaging in their work). As IPBES in its approach is closely related to the work of EKLIPSE in this area, the form is based strongly on the according IPBES form (see: IPBES/3/3, Annex II, page 19 in: http://www.ipbes.net/sites/default/files/downloads/Decision_IPBES_3_3_EN_0.pdf